Chapter 4. Entry points of environment in decision-making at local government level

4.1 Summary

In principle, the entry point of environmental issues in the decision-making process may correspond to anyone of the steps illustrated in the framework in Section 3.3. The following sections will focus only on those activities of the decision-making process requiring particular attention to environmental aspects. These are:

• natural resources assessment: it consists of the diagnostic of the environmental situation of the area and the identification of environmental problems and potentials;

• analysis of problems and objective setting: it refers to the classification, ranking and prioritization of problems and opportunities, or broadly speaking, to the establishment of a policy framework which includes the principles, goals and objectives to be achieved;

• action plan design and environmental policy measures: it defines the environmental actions and policy measures at the local level aimed at achieving the priorities set out in the previous activity; and

• monitoring and evaluation of ecosystems structure and functions, including the relationships between human activities and environmental resources.

4.2 Natural resources assessment

Multi-disciplinary analysis

Before proceeding with this point, it is worth recalling that the assessment of natural resources should not be thought of as a separate activity from other baseline studies such as social, institutional, sector analyses. On the contrary, it is a multidisciplinary activity aimed at analysing the interrelationships between economic, social, institutional, and environmental components of sustainable development. The outcomes of these analyses will provide a mechanism for monitoring and evaluating the actions carried out in the area.

This activity is aimed at gathering the information necessary to evaluate the natural resources both quantitatively and qualitatively and to identify, select, and prioritize the environmental problems. It is based on a series of analyses, which will help understand the nature of environmental problems and define the major environmental objectives. Information gathering may be based on field work and on secondary data that are already available from published sources or from project activities. It can be done by experts alone (e.g. local government officers) or in collaboration with stakeholders either within the government or external to the government. A list of the topics generally addressed in this activity is provided in Box 4.1. A practical demonstration of how such an assessment can be carried out within the purview of rural development planning at area level in China (county) is given in Annex 4.

Box 4.1 Data and information required for natural resources assessment

Two major issues deserve particular attention at this stage of the process: defining the spatial context of decision-making and information gathering.

4.2.1 Spatial contexts

The spatial context is intended as the geographical area in which information and knowledge is gathered about the social, economic, and environmental processes. Spatial contexts can be defined in various ways.

Administrative units

The most common and widespread classification of spatial contexts is based on administrative units (e.g. nation, province, district, sub-district).

Socio-economic units

In addition to the administrative units, there are spatial contexts based on socio-economic criteria, such as:

• localities or areas characterized by economic and social boundaries. “The defining characteristic of “local” is that there are face-to-face relationships and some sense of mutual identification and mutual interest among the people within that domain so that there is some potential for collective action and self-help. Up through the locality level (a grouping of communities that have some social and economic connections), many people know each other and feel that they have some common bond. There can be conflicts, but there is also some loyalty to people within one’s group, community or locality, some willingness to cooperate. Above this, one is dealing with administrative rather than social units, where interpersonal relations are attenuated and dispositions for voluntary cooperation are diminished. Pecuniary interests pursued through market relationships and behaviour that is regulated, compelled or exhorted through state action are more important principles at the local government level and above. Face-to-face interaction is impractical if not impossible at higher levels of social aggregation”^[36].

• community often synonymous of village, is a sub-level of locality. A set of communities that have economic and social ties form a locality;

• group is made up by persons within a higher level spatial context sharing some common interests;

• household: group of persons having direct relationship ties;

• individual.

Environment-based units

Finally, environmental issue-specific classification systems are generally available which integrate the information on the environmental resource base of countries, such as classification systems related to watersheds, land, forests, climate, agro-ecological zones, and so forth (Box 4.2).

Box 4.2 Some FAO definitions of Zones^[37]

All the above mentioned spatial contexts and classification systems, however, are found to have some limitations in so far as, taken individually, they do not provide comprehensive information on the complex interactions between the ecological processes and human activities.

Ideally, a more appropriate spatial unit for information collection and decision-making on the environment should be based on the concept of ecosystem.

Ecosystem

Ecosystem is a geographical area covering all the interactions between the ecological, socio-economic and cultural factors (field, farm, household, village, watershed, regional production area) and related livelihoods, such as production (plants), consumption (animals and humans), and absorption (water, soils, etc.).

A practical approach commonly used to identify the spatial units more consistent with the ecosystem concept is to use a combination of existing classification systems according to the issue to be addressed. So, for example, if the issue is non-point pollution due to agriculture, a combination of land classification systems, agro-ecological zones, watershed systems, and administrative units could provide the basis for:

• a comprehensive analysis of the ecological, social, and economic impacts of pollution;

• the identification of the most suitable measures to be undertaken to solve the problem; and

• the identification of the appropriate institutional level for implementing the measures.

Following Transley^[38], who coined the term, ecosystem is defined as “a recognizable chunk of earth in which the flow of energy and the transformation of matter in-space-in-time creates networks of organisms (such as plants and animals, including humans), atmosphere, rock, soil, and water, interacting with each other and with other ecosystems”.

A graphical representation of an ecosystem is provided in Figure 4.1, wherefrom it can be drawn that the three principal components of ecosystems are: the primary producers (plants), the consumers or secondary producers (animals, including humans), and the processors (fungi, bacteria) that decompose organic wastes of producers and consumers into inorganic nutrients, which in turn are used by the primary producers to produce the biomass and perpetuate the biological cycle. Moreover, ecosystems require a continuous flow of external energy. In the case of natural ecosystems, the only source of energy is the sun, whereas in the case of ecosystems created by humans, solar energy is generally complemented by “artificial” energy such as oil, coal, nuclear. Finally, ecosystems interact with other ecosystems through the exchange of, for example, pollution, soil erosion, etc.

Figure 4.1 Ecosystem functions and interactions with the human activities

Source: Adapted from Gigo, 1974; Zacharias and Kattman, 1981.

Natural ecosystems are able to react to external disturbing actions (auto-regulatory capacity of ecosystems), and therefore are able to achieve a steady biological equilibrium in the long term. The auto-regulatory capacity, however, is limited and if ecosystems are subject to prolonged and intense external actions some functions or components (species) of the ecosystem may disappear, thus leading to a new equilibrium less stable than the previous one.

In the case of agricultural ecosystems, for example, the natural equilibrium is altered through the action of farmers who tend to favour the growth of crops by reducing the number of other plant species (or primary producers) with the introduction of herbicides and hoeing machines. A side effect of these practices, in particular with the use of chemicals, is the reduction of the species of processors. Yet, crops need increasing energy and inorganic nutrients to grow. If the agricultural ecosystem is not able to meet the requirements, the only alternative will be to increase the use of fertilizers and chemicals. In other words, the agricultural ecosystem is no more able to achieve the biological equilibrium through its auto-regulatory capacity and depends increasingly on supplies of external and artificial energy.

4.2.2 Information gathering

“An information-rich and an information-sensitive society is mandatory for sustainable living and an ecosystem approach to management. Knowledge and information allow societies to make more informed decisions about the care and use of ecosystems. Research, for example, can tell us how ecosystem degradation associated with overharvest of a resource might affect society in terms of lost long-term opportunities”. (Dovers and Handmer, 1992).

The areas of environmental knowledge and information that deserve major attention can be summarized in the following two major themes: understanding ecosystem composition, structure, and function; and management of human-environmental relationships. In particular, efforts should be devoted to:

• defining and quantifying natural resources in terms of stocks, flows, and distribution;

• describing human-environmental relationships;

• assessing human-caused as well as natural stress affecting natural resources, particularly cumulative impacts;

• valuing the services and goods supplied by the environment; and

• development of data and information management techniques.

Necessary conditions for achieving a higher understanding of the above mentioned issues are education, research, extension, and training, which would contribute to the creation of an a-priori knowledge of problems likely to occur in a certain ecosystem, would ease the identification and selection of information and data to look for, and would allow to save time and financial resources. Higher knowledge and information would also facilitate increased participation of stakeholder in decision-making. It is worth pointing out, however, that education, research, extension, and training require financial investments, which are often beyond the capacities of developing countries. Moreover the returns on these investments are in the long term, whereas some environmental problems of developing countries require urgent intervention. Environmental information gathering at the local level can be done by using the methods generally known as Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA). A brief description of PRA is provided in Annex 3^[39].

4.3 Analysis of problems and objective setting

Consensus on issues and objectives

The main purpose of this activity is to reach a consensus among stakeholders on broad as well as detailed issues and objectives, and on long, medium, and short-term objectives. The higher the compatibility of the objectives and goals identified at the area level with the overall development goals at the higher levels, the greater the possibilities of problem solution.

The selection of the priority issues or problems facing the area relies primarily on the analysis of information provided by the natural resources assessment exercise, which may be complemented with other information obtained from various sources such as existing strategies and plans, ad hoc studies carried out by task forces specialized in various issues (environmental, social, economic), previous studies conducted by governmental agencies, universities, private and public research institutes, other projects or plans addressing the same issues.

The analysis of problems and opportunities will lead to the selection of few priority issues and objectives (too many objectives can be unmanageable) that reflect the perception of stakeholders, are manageable, and can be monitored and evaluated easily. Annex 4 gives an illustration on the application of simple tools to carry out such an analysis and to identify stakeholders’ interests and responses in order to reach consensus on solutions proposed.

4.4 Action planning

The action plan’s purpose is to define a set of projects and policy measures able to achieve the objectives identified. It will provide details on how the policies and projects will be implemented and the objectives achieved. These direct actions can be completed by indirect actions such as training and education aimed at enhancing the capacity of the management system and enhancing skills among participants.

Each action will be clearly defined in terms of:

• the alternatives available to achieve the same objectives;

• the inputs and outputs required;

• agents involved;

• uncertainty and risks;

• linkages with other programmes;

• budget and financial plan; and

• monitoring and evaluation arrangements.

4.5 Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E)

As stressed by the United Nations ACC Task Force on Rural Development (1985), monitoring and evaluation (M&E) provide the means for development managers, planners, and decision-makers to:

• track the progress of development activities during implementation;

• determine systematically and objectively the relevance, efficiency, and effectiveness of development activities and their impact on the intended beneficiaries; and

• learn lessons for future developing planning.

Together, they allow managers to identify shortfalls or discrepancies between the expected outcomes or objectives and the actual changes and to provide for early corrective actions through revision or improvement of the design and the operation of parts or the whole process.

With regard to the environmental dimension of sustainable development activities, M&E is carried out to assess the impacts of the actions (projects, policy measures, etc.) undertaken on the stock of natural resources, the flows of services and goods they supply, and the functioning of the ecosystem processes. The assessment is based on indicators that help to measure changes due to an activity.

Environmental indicators will:

• measure quantitative (quantity of dissolved oxygen in water) or qualitative (higher or lower transparency of air) changes;

• be direct (the ones cited above) or indirect (proxies) when direct measures are not possible or cost-effective (e.g. presence or absence of certain species of animals as a proxy for measuring the quality of the habitat);

• refer to micro-level (number of trees planted in one village) or macro-level (air quality at the local level) changes; and

• be disaggregated (salinity at the local government level) or aggregated with other sustainability objectives (e.g. UN Human Development Index, which is constructed accounting for social, economic and environmental factors).

In a sustainable development framework indicators must also be developed on the linkages between environmental, social, and economic dimensions (e.g. how human activities stress or help to restore the environment) in order to assess whether sustainability objectives are achieved.

M&E can be carried out by specialists internal to sponsoring organizations, by external specialized bodies, or by specialists in collaboration with stakeholders.